Ethical Responsibilities and 3D Methods in Cultural Heritage

SunoikisisDC Digital Approaches to Cultural Heritage: Session 5

Date: Thursday February 15, 2024. 16:00-17:30 GMT.

Convenors: Gabriel Bodard (University of London), Paula Granados García (Endangered Material Knowledge Programme), Tala Rahal (GLAM-E Lab, University of Exeter), Andrea Wallace (University of Exeter)

Youtube link: https://youtu.be/rvxzt22Ob5k

Slides: Combined slides (PDF)

Outline

This session introduces an ongoing conversation and community initiative around documenting and raising awareness of ethical responsibilities regarding the use of 3D methods in cultural heritage research and curation. We consider four key areas of concern: (1) Indigenous and community knowledge, heritage and data; (2) Intellectual property and equitable access; (3) Disability accessibility; (4) Environmental impact and sustainability. Rather than attempting to dictate practice or deliver comprehensive answers to these issues, we offer a series of questions that practitioners should be asking themselves, examples of good practice, and further readings that cast light on many of these questions. In all sections, the key principle is that decisions about digitisation, reproduction and preservation should not be made without the consent and involvement—ideally the leadership—of the most affected communities and stakeholders.

Required readings

• Bodard G, Granados García P, Mathur D, Rahal T, Wallace A, et al. 2024. "Ethical Responsibilities and 3D Methods in Cultural Heritage." White paper. REQUEST FOR COMMENTS. Available: https://github.com/SAS-DHRH/EthicalResponsibilities3D/raw/main/drafts/Ethical-Responsibilities-3D-Approaches-to-Cultural-Heritage-0.5-RFC.pdf

Further readings

• Anne Baillot, James Baker, Jenny Bunn et al. 2022. Digital Humanities Climate Coalition Toolkit. Available: https://sas-dhrh.github.io/dhcc-toolkit/.
• CARE. Research Data Alliance International Indigenous Data Sovereignty Interest Group (2019). “CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance.” The Global Indigenous Data Alliance. Available: https://www.gida-global.org/care.
• Cecilia, R., Moussouri, T. and Fraser, J. 2023. “Creating Accessible Digital Images for Vision Impaired Audiences and Researchers.” Curator: the Museum Journal 66: 5-8. Available: https://doi.org/10.1111/cura.12536
• Rebecca Kahn & Rainer Simon. 2023.” Skulls, skin and names: The ethics of managing heritage collections data online.” In: Palladino, C. and Bodard, G. (Eds.), Can’t Touch This: Digital Approaches to Materiality in Cultural Heritage. Pp. 205–224. London: Ubiquity Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/bcv.k.
• Kamash, Zena. 2017. ‘“Postcard to Palmyra”: Bringing the Public into Debates over Post-Conflict Reconstruction in the Middle East’. World Archaeology, 49(5): 608–22. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.2017.1406399.
• Rebecca Kahn & Rainer Simon. 2023.” Skulls, skin and names: The ethics of managing heritage collections data online.” In: Palladino, C. and Bodard, G. (Eds.), Can’t Touch This: Digital Approaches to Materiality in Cultural Heritage. Pp. 205–224. London: Ubiquity Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/bcv.k.
• Liu, Z, Jiang, Q, Zhang, Y, Li, T, & Zhang, H. "Sustainability of 3D Printing: A Critical Review and Recommendations." Proceedings of the ASME 2016 11th International Manufacturing Science and Engineering Conference. Volume 2: Materials; Biomanufacturing; Properties, Applications and Systems; Sustainable Manufacturing. Blacksburg, Virginia, USA. June 27–July 1, 2016. Available: https://doi.org/10.1115/MSEC2016-8618.
• Chijioke Okorie. 2023. “Digital treatment of African cultural heritage: Shifting landmarks and implications for copyright exceptions for archives in Nigeria.” In Palladino, C. & Bodard, G. (Eds.), Can’t Touch This: Digital Approaches to Materiality in Cultural Heritage. Pp. 225–244. London: Ubiquity Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/bcv.l.
• Mathilde Pavis, & Andrea Wallace. (2022). "Recommendations on Digital Restitution and Intellectual Property Restitution." Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7305104.
• Andrea Wallace. 2022. “Accessibility: Making open GLAM and digital access more inclusive.’ OpenGLAM. Available: https://openglam.pubpub.org/pub/accessibility/release/2.
• Donna Yates & Shawn Graham. 2023. "Reputation laundering and museum collections: patterns, priorities, provenance, and hidden crime." International Journal of Heritage Studies. Available: https://doi.org/10.1080/13527258.2023.2284740.

Exercise

• Pick an existing 3D project of your own or one that you are familiar with (e.g. a project that you might select for assessed work, or one described in one of the other sessions in this semester under 3D imaging, modelling or VR), and undertake a ‘project audit’ using some of the questions laid out in the white paper.
• Review the topics and questions against the project you selected. Some will be relevant. Others will not. Identify and answer those most relevant to your project.
• Now answer the following questions:
  • Project Audit: How did the project audit help you rethink aspects of your project? What changed or remained the same in the process?
  • Usefulness: What was most useful about the white paper?
  • Feedback: What was missing? Where do you feel you need more support?